Pims fire: Inquiry committee finds 'systemic, institutional failure' behind tragedy
ISLAMABAD: An inquiry committee formed to probe the deadly fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) has found “systemic and institutional failure” and determined that an electrical failure was the most likely cause of the blaze, it emerged on Tuesday. The August 26 fire at a nursery in Pims’ Mother and Child Hospital claimed the lives of 14 newborns. The incident raised concerns…
An inquiry committee has concluded that systemic and institutional failures were responsible for a fire at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in August, which resulted in the deaths of 14 newborns. The fire at a nursery in the Mother and Child Hospital was likely caused by an electrical failure, according to the report.
The committee, headed by former interior secretary Shahid Khan and formed on the day of the incident, found that Pims and its senior management bore the principal institutional responsibility for failing to convert known risks and assigned duties into an effective safety system. The report also noted that while individual responsibility varied, the electrical spark was the most likely cause of the fire, and other factors such as overcrowding, limited evacuation capacity, and the absence of a rehearsed neonatal emergency system contributed to the catastrophe.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
